


Little Treasures

by tetsuyacchi



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Romance, Fairy Tale Elements, Fluff, Good Tom Riddle, Implied Slash, Little Mermaid AU, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Sane Tom Riddle, Sweet Harry, Sweet Tom, but i'm tomarry trash so its romance, can be read as platonic i guess, kind of, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-29 00:53:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15061499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tetsuyacchi/pseuds/tetsuyacchi
Summary: Harry loved to explore the deep waters for treasures long forgotten of the world above the sea. He found them endlessly fascinating. One day, whilst on his travels, he came across a lone cave.It was here, he met the Sea Wizard.





	Little Treasures

**Author's Note:**

> This was something I actually wrote for warm-up during a writing class for my A-Level coursework, I simply changed it to fit with the Harry potter characters instead of my OCs. I love soft tomarry stories and couldn't help but add my own little fairy-tale inspired piece.

Harry Potter was the only child of two loving parents. However, James and Lily Potter were affluent members of their society, and as such, Harry was often left alone to explore the wonders of the underwater world around him.  
Harry was tanned, like most sea dwellers; his skin shone golden like the rays of light that hit the water’s surface during the daytime. His hair a dazzling auburn inherited from his mother that lay across his forehead in a mess of unruly curls – curtesy of his father. Like the glittering scales that adorned his tail; his eyes were an enthralling emerald, the reflecting light only highlighted their intensity as he searched the ocean floor.  
Harry loved to explore the deep waters for treasures long forgotten of the world above the sea. He found them endlessly fascinating. One day, whilst on his travels, he came across a lone cave.  
It was here, he met the Sea Wizard.

Harry knew of the Sea Wizard, everyone did in his home. The wizard was a powerful being who was said to hypnotise passing dwellers to their deaths with his musical voice. There were many rumours about the wizard; some say he had massacred an entire village, whilst others swear they saw him spell innocent dwellers under his rule, making them perform cruel acts in his favour.  
Sea Wizards were revered and despised in equal measure. Harry’s mother had told tales of their mystifying lyrics that could enchant the current, or soothe the pain of any sting; the water rushing to do their bidding. They resembled Harry himself; a sea dweller, yet they held the power of magic within their lungs. He had been fascinated upon hearing the tales and often wondered what they were really like. Surely, they couldn’t _all_ be so bad, right?

The wizard was an enchanting sight to behold, one that contradicted the portrayal in the tales Harry had been told. His skin was white, almost translucent. The veins on his arms and hands decorated his skin like the rivets and indentations on the palest shell. His hair was a faint black, almost brown, which fell in soft, smooth waves upon his head. Harry peered into narrow eyes and could do nothing but marvel at their beauty. The blood-red colouring seemed so unnatural yet they fit the wizard’s rather intimidating and aristocratic appearance rather well. They held such a dark intensity, and Harry could practically feel them assessing him as he came closer.  
In the darkness of the cave, he was like a hidden pearl, nestled within the comfort of its oyster. Like the ones Harry himself would collect and admire. He had now found something to rival that beauty.

A new, shining pearl to admire.

-

‘Do you not fear me?’ The wizard had one day asked. His voice was soft, yet controlled, barely disturbing the current when he spoke.

  
Harry had come to visit the wizard daily since discovering the cave, bringing treasures big and small to show his new friend. Harry had yet to learn the wizard’s name, but he felt they were friends none the less.

‘Why should I ever be afraid of you?’ Harry recalled the stories that spoke of the sea wizard, however he would not say such things aloud. The wizard himself, however, looked confused.

‘Surely you have heard the tales they spin of me?’ His tone was light, but Harry could hear the underlying tension behind the question.

‘Tales that have been spun no longer hold much truth, do they?’ Harry could not believe that his friend and the terrifying sea wizard from tales of old were the same. He would not believe that his friend, his _pärla_ , who carried within him such soothing, alluring melodies, would ever intentionally hurt someone.

‘Even the most spun tales hold some truth.’ The wizard admitted.

‘Then I will wait to hear the original.’ Harry declared.

‘What would make you believe I would ever tell you such a tale?’

‘I’d like to think friends share each other’s secrets.’ Harry spoke, wearing his best smile; his eyes crinkling at the corners.

The wizard looked shocked until a small smile graced his usually stern face, softening the slightly pinched expression he’d previously worn.

 

Harry continued to visit the wizard day after day. His parents had noticed his prolonged absences from home, but once Harry assured them he was simply out exploring and visiting friends, they didn’t question any further, happy their only child was making friends. With this he began to leave home earlier, eager to see his friend. He left before the waters had brightened, and slipped into the morning darkness, his newest treasure clutched between tan fingers.

It was as he was closing in on his friends cave that danger struck.

A school of electric eels were heading his way. Harry could do nothing but hiss in pain as they struck, their elongated bodies twisting and turning around his own. They wrapped their lean bodies around his own, their muscles clenching and crushing his own frail figure. Their eyes held the greed and hunger of a predator, and Harry couldn’t help but fear for his life. Their shocks burnt his skin upon contact and his limbs spasmed in agony.  
Over his cries of pain, he faintly heard a distant hum, one that rippled the surrounding water and sang with the warning of a looming threat. The water around Harry began to bubble and froth, hiding him from the sight of the eels behind a wall of foam. When the creatures attempted to attack yet again, their bodies recoiled as they thrashed in pain from the boiling heat.

Sensing defeat the eels made a hasty retreat, and with it Harry could breath calmly again. He looked around for his saviour, for he knew only his friend wielded such powerful magic. When the wizard reached Harry, he pulled him into a fierce hug. The wizard’s arms wrapped around his waist, whilst his head lay against the boy’s shoulder. Harry heard a soft humming, and felt more than saw as his wounds began to heal.

‘I heard the screams...I heard your pain.’ The wizard said. He was trembling slightly, and Harry wondered if such displays of magic had drained his friend. Harry voiced his concerns, worry evident in his voice.

‘I tremble only from the panic of seeing you in such danger, Harry.’ The wizard replied. Harry was shocked, for he had thought the wizard unable to care so deeply for him. He immediately felt ashamed for this train of thought, his friend had just saved him, and so he focused on what he had originally came for. Trying to lighten the mood, Harry gave a crooked grin as he thrust his hands out and presented his treasure, which he had gripped protectively against his chest throughout the ordeal.

‘For you.’ He said.

‘A shell?’ The wizard asked, seemingly forgetting the earlier scare, for now. He took the shell, examining it curiously, trying to find what special quality it held. It offered nothing an ordinary shell did not already, though he could admit the red colouring was somewhat unusual; the deep crimson looked faded and bleached as it faded into white at the top, likely from exposure of life above waters.

‘It reminded me of you. Its colour is deep red, like your eyes; and yet in the right light it shines a pale white, similar to your skin.’ Harry had known he must capture the treasure as soon as he had laid eyes upon it, trapped within the rocks near the shore. He looked to his friend, and for the second time since they had met, was greeted to the sight of the wizards soft smile, one slightly brighter than the last.

‘Tom.’ The wizard murmured after a moment of silence.

‘Tom?’ Harry repeated.

‘My name...my name is Tom.’ The wizard- no, _Tom_ said. He looked rather uncomfortable having shared this little piece of information. Yet Harry could do nothing but grin at his pärla, his friend. His Tom.

‘It seems I must stop calling you _pärla_ within my mind, and Tom instead.’ He said.

‘Pärla?’ Tom repeated in confusion, frowning at the unknown word.

‘Pärla. It means pearl, or jewel.’ He answered.

He was awarded the enchanting sight as a light smattering of pink dusted Tom’s pale cheeks.

-

Harry continued to visit Tom’s cave and eagerly begged him to perform magic of all kinds. Tom was at first reserved. Nobody had wanted to witness his magic before. His experience at the orphanage was hostile at best, and even after he’d escaped, his interactions with other sea dwellers had left much to be desired. However, Harry’s enthusiasm was infectious, and Tom wanted nothing but to please his only friend. He also couldn’t deny a small part of him thrived to show off his skills, his _power_ , especially to Harry.

They spent their days laying on the sea bed, Harry watching as Tom sung and spun currents of water into twisting tornadoes above them. He wove it into perfect copies of lively dolphins, serene sting rays and bumbling puffer fish. Harry was transfixed by the magic, and Tom’s voice would continue to play in the background of his marvel, a constant, reassuring melody. His voice was alluring in itself, Harry thought, even without the magical aspect. It was a smooth timber that put him at ease, and he felt himself become more comfortable, leaning deeper into Tom’s side in contentment.

‘What happened to your past, Tom? What nerves you so that you fear showing such wonderful magic to others?’ Harry asked, as the pair watched the magical sailfish race one another.

Tom’s calming tune tapered off, and with it, the racing illusions began to fade. Harry seemingly understood the wizard’s worries, for he lay his hand upon Tom’s, giving him a comforting smile.

‘I’ll never judge you Tom, and I’ll never leave you. I only wish to understand.’

Tom was troubled. He hadn’t ever let anyone in like he had with Harry, and he wasn’t sure he could take the rejection after finally learning to open himself up to someone. However, he trusted his friend, _his Harry_. Harry, who had travelled far across many currents just to visit him, waking early morn to stay even till the waters began to darken. Harry, who brought him the most wondrous treasures he could find, big or small. Who’d become excited upon even the smallest glimpse of Tom’s magic. He felt he could trust his friend, and so with a calming breath, he began his tale.

‘I was told my family were not magic wielders like I, they were simply sea dwellers...like yourself.

I knew nothing of my childhood for the longest time...there lived many shadows in my memory, figures I couldn’t recall. I spent my early years in an orphanage for sea dwellers that is situated across the ocean some miles away.’ Tom looked away, his voice becoming more of a whisper.

‘Children can be cruel, of that I find out first hand. They would whisper in fear of my unnatural eyes, chatter about how I inhabited the devil and wouldn’t think twice of hurting them in their sleep.’ Tom’s voice took on a sibilant quality, his disdain evident between hissed words.

‘I won’t go into detail…but eventually I left, managing to escape that hell-hole. Upon my travels hoping to find better tides, I finally learnt what I was, who I was. My mother, Merope Gaunt was a frail woman - her skin would not shine like a dweller’s should, and was instead the mottled grey. However she came from a line of magic wielders like myself, despite being pathetically weak herself. Tom Riddle was human, what those who live above the water call a sailor; he spent much of his time on boats scoring the sea and one day came across my mother and her family.’

Harry could tell Tom didn’t hold much love for either of his parents. His eyes, which Harry had always felt were ethereally beautiful now looked into the distance with a cold lifelessness, so much that he couldn’t help but flinch.

Tom continued his story. ‘Merope hadn’t much magic at her disposal, yet it was enough against a human who had no natural defences. She used her magic to enthral Tom Riddle into falling in love with her, and she coerced him into visiting her upon the rocky shores for many days and nights. What she hoped to achieve I cannot fathom, as love cannot be artificially created, even magic has its limits. Merope was so sure of their love that she eventually lifted him of her spell, confident that their love would remain. Yet when Tom Riddle found out what Merope had done, he left her and never returned.  
I was born not long after and Merope died from both grief and the stresses of childbirth, managing only to deliver her child to the local orphanage and ensuring he would be named after the one man she had loved unconditionally; Tom Riddle.’

Listening to his tale, Harry felt tears fill his eyes. As they fell, they vanished into the surrounding water, leaving only blotchy red in their wake. He tried to reflect on what he himself would have done. He loved his parents, and though they were often busy he knew that their love for him was unconditional, and most importantly, that they were madly in love with each other too. They shared a natural connection and bond that Merope had never been lucky enough to experience herself.

Tom’s tale was a tragedy, and although he portrayed only disgust and contempt for his parents, Harry could tell the rejection of his father still hurt Tom. Harry also reflected on Merope’s actions; he knew what she had done was wrong, and that Tom Riddle Sr was the victim in this situation, yet he couldn’t help but pity the women he knew as Tom’s mother. To lose one’s moral integrity like that, for someone you believe you love, was an overwhelming and terrifying thought.

Harry felt his chest tighten and warm at the trust Tom had shown him by sharing his tale. He couldn't help but feel it was his duty to stick with Tom no matter what. He wouldn't disappoint his friend after learning how much Tom had been through in his life. How much he had struggled through alone.

‘You’re really strong, Tom. I’m proud of you...thank you for the trust you have given me.’

Tom looked up from where his hands had been clenched upon his lap, a hesitant smile graced his face. The corners of his mouth upturning just the slightest, yet Harry could tell he was grateful of his understanding, thankful he didn't pity him, only sympathised with his past.

‘I trust you most of all.’

Harry looked upon his friend and gave his biggest grin yet; gums visible from a wide grin, and a dusting of pink across tanned cheeks, he felt his chest tighten once more.

He’d already found the most priceless treasure in the whole sea, and it was right in front of him.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Feel free to comment, I always appreciate any feedback I can get on my stories :)


End file.
